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Hormone Induced

Still shooting my Red Stag recurve, also got a Bodnik Dakota longbow from my GF for Christmas. Both are marked 45lb @28", but the Dakota seemed a lot easier to draw than the recurve. Put them both on the draw scale, it turns out my Red Stag is actually 50lb - which explains why it felt like such a poundage jump when I upgraded from my 30lb PSE. :lol: The longbow is a beauty, very nice to shoot. We currently have 5 bows in the house, and we will be getting 2 more in the coming weeks (roommate is finally buying his own so he can stop borrowing my loaner-bow, and I bought a 1973 55lb Shakespeare Necedah on eBay) so I made a bow rack on my day off:

I also picked up a Nikon V1 a while back, and tried out the 400FPS slow-motion mode. Pretty neat, although it was shot indoors so it's pretty dark, flickery, and grainy (ISO3200 and all that). I'll try to take some outside in the daylight, that should be much clearer.

Hormone Induced

I finally got around to taking some pics of the recurve I got a few months ago, it's currently by far my favorite bow to shoot.

It's a Samick Birdseye Banshee, 62"AMO, 45#@28"

But wait, you (probably didn't) say! The Birdseye Banshee is a one-piece longbow, not a takedown recurve! Ah, apparently not always. I got this from Lancaster as what appears to have been a cancelled special order of some kind, as the design is essentially the same as a Birdseye Bullet, but with different woods used. The one I bought, and the 35# one they sold around the same time, are the only ones I am aware of.

The riser is primarily Ironwood, with what look like Maple and Yellowheart accents. Limb wedges and cores are dark walnut, the string is a Bearpaw Whisper String with wool silencers I made.

The limbs are a walnut core with Birdseye Maple veneers under clear glass, I was initially skeptical of how good the birdseye would look, but they look awesome in person. Tips overlays are black and brown phenolic. The limb design is very efficient and really chucks an arrow - the only bow I've shot that felt faster per draw was a custom CariBow recurve.

The bow is an incredibly smooth shooter and completely dead in the hand - I love it!

Oh man, so many of the "custom" bows out there are friggin' artwork. Blacktail, Silvertip, Wes Wallace, so many bowyers out there do just stunning work. I saw a pic the other day of a Wes Wallace Mentor in cocobolo and yew, just amazing.

Germany's not a bad place to get into archery, Bearpaw is a German archery company and they make great stuff, I've got one of their longbows. They also host lots of cool events! Hopefully in the next couple of years I will make it over there for one of their big tournaments.

Hormone Induced

I swear you had a post in here a few days back but it disappeared... anyway, enjoy your new bow! That one looks very youth-oriented, so you may find yourself outgrowing it fairly quickly. Once you do, the Diamond Infinite Edge is a commonly-recommended beginner bow due to its enormous range of adjustability.

I don't know the details of that particular set, but be careful that the arrows are long enough for your draw length. Having too short of an arrow for your draw can lead to some nasty things, including driving the arrow through your hand. Not trying to scare you or anything, I just want to make sure you are safe!

Chicken Fiddler

I don't know the details of that particular set, but be careful that the arrows are long enough for your draw length. Having too short of an arrow for your draw can lead to some nasty things, including driving the arrow through your hand. Not trying to scare you or anything, I just want to make sure you are safe!

Chicken Fiddler

BSW shipped the bow today, should be here within the week. Tracking included, so it's either fun to track it or annoying to see how much time it spends in some places. Let's hope DHL is better than USPS.

Starter recurve mileage varies wildly and has a lot to do with how frequently you shoot. I started with a 30# and went a year or so before going to a 45# - had I started with a 25# I would have been wanting a heavier draw after a month. Compounds can be a different beast - the Infinite Edge I mentioned earlier is adjustable from 5-70# and 13-30" draw, which is crazy - you could conceivably use that bow for your entire learning cycle and not outgrow it.

Chicken Fiddler

Arrived today via courier. Shot it several times, managed to break the plastic arrow rest on the first shot. A free replacement is on its way, great service from BSW. Hits were on target, doesn't feel too hard to pull but not that easy either. Love it!

I'll eventually get something like this

And some carbon fibre arrows. But I'm all tapped out atm financially, so I'll have fun with what I've got!

Blue Wheel Hipster

Arrived today via courier. Shot it several times, managed to break the plastic arrow rest on the first shot. A free replacement is on its way, great service from BSW. Hits were on target, doesn't feel too hard to pull but not that easy either. Love it!

I'll eventually get something like this

And some carbon fibre arrows. But I'm all tapped out atm financially, so I'll have fun with what I've got!